Visited the Arizona Route 66 museum/visitor center in Kingman on our way to The Town of Oatman, AZ…read more The visitor center is on the 1st floor and offers a nice size gift shop with so many cool souvenirs. They also have nice clean bathrooms. The 2nd floor is the entrance to the Museum. The Museum was very informative about the history of Route 66 and Kingman. We also got to tour the electric vehicle museum. Admission was only $10 for adults. Unfortunately the day we went The Bonelli house was not open which is included in that price. It's a self tour and they also have an hour long movie about Route 66 and the boom and bust that happened. After visiting the shop and touring the museum we had a little picnic lunch outside before continuing our road trip. They had some clean picnic tables under an awning with some shade so we were able to enjoy our lunch outside instead of in our car which was nice! Great place to stop and take a break while visiting Arizona.

From trade route, to train route, to State Route 66 [Kingman AZ]…read more The Arizona Route 66 Museum is located on the 2nd floor of the Powerhouse. As we were leaving we didn't immediately notice that the museum was just above the Visitor Center. We went back inside LoL! General admission is $10/person but if you're a senior (60+) it's $6. The ticket can be used as a bookmark to remember your visit to Kingman AZ. The $10 ticket is good to see 3 places: The Mojave Museum (unfortunately was closed at the time), 'The Powerhouse' Route 66 Museum including the Historic Electric Vehicle Exhibit and The Bonelli House. Arizona Route 66 Museum ~ To summarize, the museum depicts the historical evolution of travel along the 35th parallel that became Route 66. We viewed vintage artifacts, dioramas, murals, photographs, and more that took us on a journey from a pre-Route 66 America to the present and, well, everything in between. Informative museum! Route 66 Electric Vehicle Museum ~ Why is there a Tesla in here?? Well, I did not know that they made Tesla's then. There is a 2008 Tesla Roadster "The Simo" on the exhibit floor. Elon Musk launched a Roadster into space carried by a Falcon Heavy rocket in a test flight on February 6, 2018. Route 66 Drive-Thru Shield ~ We drove through this roadside attraction that allowed cars to drive a loop and go under and through the classic Route 66 shield. Pretty cool! Review #3696

$10 per adult (free kids) to go into this Museum, along with the Route 66 Museum and the Bonelli…read moreHouse. My 5-year-old daughter and I enjoyed it! There's exhibits about Native Americans, gems, mining, desert animals, etc. Pretty much anything in history that happened in that area. My daughters' favorite part was the hands-on table, where you could use different types of antique phones! Definitely a worthwhile visit, especially because your ticket gets you into other places as well. The ladies at the front desk were super nice and explained that I could keep the receipt and even use it another day, or give it to someone else to use. Later my husband arrived, and they just let him in for free! We made sure to buy something at the gift shop to support them. They had little bags for $6.50 that you could fill with gems of your choice.

Don!!!!! What a privilege it was to meet you and chat today!! We loved getting to know you! What a…read morewelcome smile you are! This museum is well designed. So many y good exhibits The flow of this place works well, I LOVED that they built a table.of things you could touch! The history here does not disappoint, and you get a lifetime pass with purchase to view this and 2 other locations! I am heading to check out rhe others and can't wait to return with family and do it again!

This is a fun visitor center with a little something for everyone. Two wonderful gift shops, a…read moresecond floor free museum, a super neat pay museum (that I would strongly recommend), a dog park, and several photo ops. The gift stores had moderate priced items and a nice selection. The free museum gave a nice history of this Route 66 stop. The gem was definitely the pay museum. We learned so much about the history of the area and the dust bowl. As an added bonus was the electric car display. So much fun! We almost skipped this because we were just planning on a short stop. Glad we stayed and explored! We were traveling with an active 6 year old and she stayed engaged throughout. So many fun photo backdrops made this a stop that made our highlight reel from our vacation. Plan to spend at least an hour. Your paid admission to the museum also includes 3 other stops. Not all are open every day. We only made it to one of the 4. Again, good for all ages. Entertaining and informative.

Across the street from Locomotive Park [Kingman AZ]…read more Formerly the Powerhouse, Arizona's oldest known reinforced concrete industrial building, according to the roadside attraction marker in front of the building. The historic Powerhouse generated electricity from 1909 to 1938. The side of the building has 16 Tesla Superchargers ツ The Visitor Center has a gift shop that carries maps, brochures and mostly American-made souvenirs. They have a nice selection of stickers and postcards. They also sell stamps so it was perfect for the postcards I was sending. The stickers are my latest collection (it doesn't take up much space LoL!) Upstairs is the Route 66 Museum (stairs and elevator are available for use). Before heading to the museum, stop to read about the Guardian Angel of Route 66 StoryFile Experience, Angel Delgadillo. He has a very special relationship with the road called Route 66. The employees are friendly. They also have clean restrooms. Before leaving the parking lot drive through the Route 66 roadside attraction and snap a photo of your car underneath the sign. A "must see" attraction for Route 66 travelers in Kingman... highly recommended! Review #3695

Kingman, AZ: easy to locate. Interesting tour of the house. Recommend 45 minutes to hear the…read morehistory of the family.

If you pay $10 to get into the Mohave Museum and the Route 66 Museum, this house is included…read more However, when we went in, the guy at the front desk did not ask if we had tickets or anything. He was just going to take us in for free! There was no guided tour. He just gave us a brief background on the family that used to live in it, and he told us to look around ourselves. He was available for questions if we wanted. He was very knowledgeable. He seemed eager to go home... We arrived a few minutes before 2:30, thinking that 2:30 was the last guided tour, and he said they were about to close. At 2:51 or something like that, he locked up right behind us, even though there were still a few minutes for someone else to walk in and look around quickly if they wanted to. I always have a pet peeve of employees locking up or cleaning up early, because sometimes I'm that person who comes in hoping I can look around for 5 minutes! Overall, the house was definitely a nice thing to see for free. Fun to see the old artifacts, but it would have been nice to have that guided tour we were expecting. Even my 5-year-old enjoyed walking around looking at the old things!

I met #3759 and 999520! [Kingman AZ]…read more Just like my hometown where a large piece of Roseville's history is the railroad. We have the major Southern Pacific rail yard, a major West Coast rail center as part of Roseville's railroad heritage,... Kingman was founded in 1882 as a small railroad town during the construction of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad and in 1883 Kingman was established as a railroad stop. Locomotive Park is not very big, you can see the "Welcome to Kingman" archway from the park. There is ample parking spaces for visitors. This is home to famed Steam Engine #3759. Visitors can climb aboard the train but use caution. It was retired in 1953, having traveled over 2,585,600 miles. The marker at the park was an interesting read. When #3759 was retired and given to the town of Kingman Santa Fe section crews laid a temporary rail line across Route 66 to the park. As soon as the engine was across the street, the track was torn up. It was the shortest-lived railroad line that the Santa Fe had ever built, lasting for about 45 minutes. It was then it had its official dedication "old 3759." In 1987 caboose 999520 was retired and donated to Kingman to be added to the #3759 display. In its operational life, it was used in mainline transcontinental pool caboose services. Visitors can also climb aboard the front and the back end of the caboose. A community project called "The Great Locomotive Pull" was organized and drew a crowd of 4,000 where some 1,200 of them took rope in hand to move the nearly half-million pound iron creature 30 feet forward to its new resting spot. Wow! instead of just bringing in a heavy equipment and move the locomotive they got the whole town involved. Amazing! It took "10 seconds." Near the west end of Locomotive Parks is the Beale Monument on which is inscribed the story of Lt. Edward Beale. The Visitors Center is just right across the street at the old Powerhouse. Review #3694

Nice little park accessible from the Route 66 visitors center. At this park you will find a…read morebeautifully preserved historic Santa Fe 3759 steam locomotive! Pretty cool. The park offers picnic tables, a grassy area, and a self-guided walking tour. Great park to relax, stretch your legs and take some really nice pictures.

AMERICA'S MAIN STREET…read more I have always been fascinated by Main Street, USA. This is one reason I am fascinated by US 66. From 1926 to 1985 Route 66 was America's Main Street. From Santa Monica, California to Chicago, Illinois it travelled through eight states: California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois. Disparate from many of the US highways at the time, it did not travel in a straight line. Instead, it travelled diagonally to connect to downtowns that needed a connection to a major Highway in addition to large cities. US 66 grew with the popularity of the automobile and the migration west to California. With the popularity of US 66 came interesting roadside architecture. Examples are Cadillac Ranch, art deco motels, classic gas stations, drive-ins and restaurants. When traffic increased and cars became more powerful, US 66 evolved. For example the hairpin curves between Oatman and Kingman, Arizona were so dangerous that US 66 was relocated to the current I-40. By the 1960s, US 66 became an American institution. US 66 became as American as apple pie. There was a show about US 66 and the song "Get Your Kicks on Route 66." Meanwhile a pledging American institution was making America's Main Street extinct. It was the Interstate. Gradually the Interstate replaced US 66. In 1985 when I-40 was completed in 1985, US 66 was decommissioned from the highway system. It was replaced by I-10, I-15, I-40, I-44, and I-55. Americans love our heritage. US 66 is a part of our heritage. Groups such as the US 66 Association are working hard to preserve the existing segments of US 66 and to reinstate it as a US Highway. Thanks to their efforts "Historic US 66" route markers bring America's Main Street back to life in many of the existing segments. I have recently been on a few segments of US 66. Whenever I drove on US 66 pavement I felt a connection to America's heritage and a feeling of being in a real life train set. Whenever I am driving from Las Vegas to Southern California, when I exit the fast lane of I-15 for a break at a business off the slower lanes of the I-15 Business Loop, I am on US 66 most likely in a historic area. A not too distant experience was visiting the First McDonald's in San Bernardino off US 66. If I kept going West on the former US 66 that is now signed California 66, I'd end up taking the scenic route to Santa Monica Pier. When I drive from Vegas to Arizona destinations, I often stop on US 66. In Kingman, US 66 is both a Main Street and a I-40 Business Route. The US 66 Association is here in the Powerhouse Visitor Center. In downtown Kingman, US 66 looks like a charming train set turned to life. This is one of the larger segments of US 66. From Kingman, it changes into Arizona 66 and travels through the desert passing Grand Canyon Caverns until it rejoins I-40 West of Williams. When I vacationed in the Grand Canyon, it was US 66 in Williams that I stopped off before driving into the park. I knew I was on US 66 when I saw the bear attraction. When I drive the Laughlin route toward Lake Havasu City, I am driving on US 66 when I cruise through Needles, California . Recently I was hanging out on US 66 when I was spending a few hours in the ghost town of Oatman. And this summer when I walked in the Chicago Loop I was walking on the easternmost segment of US 66. US 66 is currently a discontinuous Main Street. Many have been negatively affected by the Interstate. A reinstated US 66 would connect these Main Street at the same time it would increase tourism. America needs it's Main Street back. The Route 66 Associations in each of the states that US 66 travels through are fighting the good fight by trying to reinstate US 66 to the highway system. I support them. And on the subject of US 66 for the next couple of days I will mentally be at the easternmost city of US 66 finishing up my 2014 Chicago reviews. I'll mentally be back in Vegas in a few days when the weather turns cooler. Most likely reviewing a Las Vegas Park or restaurant . So, my Vegas Yelper friends I will share my local experiences then. However, because this is the Internet you can join me on a mental trip to the easternmost city of US 66 in Chicago. If not I will leave you singing, "If you ever plan to motor west Travel my way the road that's the best. Get your kicks on Route 66."

Great Route 66 Museum! Very well presented history of Route 66. Worth the stop. I don't have kids…read morebut I think this would be an entertaining stop for kids as well. They also have a small electro car museum.

Area 66, just outside Yucca, Arizona, is a classic roadside America stop. You'll know you reached…read moreyour destination when you see what looks like a giant golf ball show up along the road. This weird building has had many tenants over the years -- including a real estate business that actually turned out to be a complete scam, selling houses that never actually existed! Today, you'll find a strange museum that houses what the owners say is evidence of alien encounters in the area. We had our dog, Doug, with us and were allowed to bring him in with us as long as we carried him. So I definitely got my workout in that day! The museum is tiny and costs $10 per adult. Did I understand everything in the museum? Did it make sense? Umm, definitely not! But we think it was well worth the stop for the weird experience alone. Before you leave, make sure you stop at the little store at the base of the museum to pick up some beef jerky.

Fun little rest stop. The museum just opened in April 2019, a friend and I stopped by on our…read moreroadtrip from the Grand Canyon to Joshua Tree. The gift shop is small and they are expecting more inventory soon. The displays were nice and informative. I like the history of the location and information about project Icarus. The women on site were very friendly. We didn't pick up snacks at the store but it seems like the jerky is something worth trying. There was one additional shop on site that was closed but has beautiful sculptures near it. I recommend you to stop by, stretch your legs, and get creeped out by the alien stories. Can't wait to see how this place evolves.

Player's card holder get in for free. If you are into…read moreclassic cars, truck and motorcycle this place is definitely worth seeing. I own quite a few older vehicles and some of their items are remarkable. Please make sure you check my photos. I was so surprised, not to say shocked and happy to see Emilio Scotto's motorcycle and gear as well as a small exhibition about his trips around the world (he holds the record for the longest ride: 10 years and 457k miles). Being a very serious biker myself, it almost brought tears to my eyes. It was the highlight of my trip (yeah...) and I will certainly go back again next time I am in Laughlin!

Enjoyed looking at all the beautifully restored classic cars. The Classic Auto Exhibit is located…read moreon the third floor in the South Tower of the Riverside Resort and Hotel. It cost $5.00 each, but was worth the price as there were 80 or so cars to see. Some of my favorites: 1929 Franklin, 1937 Cord Speedster, 1981 DeLorean, and the 1954 Corvette. Very much worth it if you are in the area.